Sick Like Me
by GabrielleJeane
Summary: After Maggie deserted the Bondurant boys things began looking dismal and uncertain for all of them until Howard came upon a broken and battered naked woman in the forest near Blackwater station who refuses to divulge any personal information after Forrest patches her up. He is unable to turn her away even as ghosts from her past show up and muddy the waters even further.


Clear.

Clear is good… it's the only thing that would work.

It was strong too.

He could see straight through it to the other side of the glass where Jack was staring at him with a goofy grin spread across his face. He rubbed his gritty, grease covered finger over the flawless glass smearing the clarity with which it previously held.

"This is the best we've made Forrest." Jack declared with the candor of a school aged boy talking to his crush successfully for the first time.

"It'll do." He muttered lowly, taking a deep drag of the cigar forever hanging from his lips. He knew it was better than any they'd ever made but he could never let his standards rest in the same place for very long; they'd get lazy and complacent and that made for shit shine. People would get bored with the same old same old after a while and he mustn't allow that to happen.

"It's perfect." Jack beamed, lifting his glass to his lips and taking a hefty swallow. The visible shivers that ran up his spine let Forrest know it was well and truly perfect for now.

"Fill the jars and load the truck, don't be forgettin' the cover this time," he set the Mason jar down and stared at Jack forebodingly, "don't need the law comin' round seein' our operation clear as day. We'll start our run at the usual time." Jack jumped to his feet with unbelievable enthusiasm that made Forrest envious; all the strain he'd put on himself made fervor such as his unbearable and damn near impossible to possess, not like he'd show it if he'd had it anyway. His hand rubbed the scar across his neck as if reminding himself that he wasn't the same as he used to be before Maggie and that entire shit show happened.

Nothing was the same; the entire demeanor of the town and surrounding hills had changed. There were no dealings with the sheriff or deputies, no involvement from the law what so ever. Making shine had been reduced to a secret once more and Forrest rather liked it that way.

"Forrest," Jack called out just as his older brother had turned around with the fervent intention of leaving lest he be too tempted to steal a sip, or ten, of his own, "I gotta talk to you."

"What is it?" he demanded.

"I can't keep workin' in the kitchen," the younger man confessed, his hands skillfully pouring the perfect amount of shine into a Mason jar as he continued his rant that quite frankly Forrest had no desire to listen to, "you gotta hire someone else."

"You find me someone qualified enough and then we'll talk." He responded gruffly. Today was not the day he was going to recant the same argument they'd been having for the past three months ever since Maggie up and deserted them.

Forrest couldn't really blame her for his trust issues; he never put any stock into anyone other than himself but she certainly hadn't helped that along. Things had been working smoothly, marriage was in the works for them, until one day out of the blue she'd vanished leaving only a note declaring how sorry she was and not to wait up on her.

They'd exhausted every possible scenario for her desertion from her wanderlust to Jack declaring that maybe if Forrest had been a little less abrasive she would have stayed. But he was completely unwilling to change a single facet of the life he'd created for anyone, no matter how dangerous and unsavory it might be.

"I have a few ideas." Jack assured his older brother who simply grunted and continued on his way out of the barn, throwing his well smoked cigar onto the ground once he was clear of all the dry hay and replacing it with a fresh one from his pocket.

Forrest rarely found himself with a quiet mind as of late; whether it was filled with rage at Maggie's sudden disappearance, concern over his brothers both and their insurmountable stupidity, or worry over the future of Blackwater if he didn't find someone to maintain it soon. As much as he hated admitting Jack was right he truly was. Forrest couldn't rightly expect the younger man to stick around forever and never venture out to begin a life of his own, it wouldn't be right of him to ask that to do so anyway.

"Forrest!" he heard his older brother Howard calling out from a good distance behind him. He was half tempted to ignore he usually bumbling idiot and make a more hurried beeline for Blackwater; the thought of running up the stairs and locking himself in his room for a few hours of peace and quiet sounded like just the thing but there was something in Howard's tone that gave him pause. Generally Howard talked with the sensibility of a flea; there was more often than not emptiness and lack of thought to what he had to say but the way he called out Forrest's name made him think twice.

"What?" he grunted lowly as the older, more haggard man approached him looking as though he'd seen a ghost.

"You gotta come here." Was all he said before turning around and running back in the direction he'd just come.

Anything that could get Howard all worked up usually signaled trouble; the special kind that they all avoided in these parts more so than a simple tussle between two idiots down in the town. Trouble around here was handled a mite bit differently than usual; doctors and the law were staunchly avoided and if you were hurt in a way that couldn't be mended with a simple shine bath and stitching then you were on your own, no one could afford to be sold out least of all the Bondurants.

Forrest slowly followed Howard's path towards the thickest part of the woods surrounding their land, his body ached to sit down and take a rest but evidently what Howard had to show him was of the utmost importance.

He was damn near shouting at the older man as he approached his crouched position amidst a tangle of wild sumac and poison oak. Luckily he was covered with fairly thick trousers and his usual wool jacket but it was still a pain to try and traipse through.

"What is so fuckin' important that…" he began venomously before he caught sight of what Howard was kneeling over. He physically had to stop his jaw from dropping at the bloody, battered woman lying on the ground entirely covered in thorny vines; she was breathing but only slightly, her face and neck were almost entirely covered in black and purple bruising. Her eye looked to be swollen shut along with an engorged lower lip that was split in the center and leaking blood. A good six of her ten fingers were grossly fractured as well as possibly her collarbone and her right shin.

"What the fuck?" he asked more rhetorically than serious.

"I heard a screamin' comin' from this direction; it was 'bout five minutes 'fore I could get through that tangle of shit back there and come upon her. Right when I seen her I came to get you. She prolly hasn't been here for more'n ten minutes." Howard told Forrest solemnly.

"Was there anyone else?"

"Naw, just her." Forrest figured that would be the answer but it couldn't hurt to double check. Without wasting another minute he undid the buttons of his jacket and shrugged it off followed by his shirt and carefully wrapped them both around the tiny woman who made no sound as he gently lifted her from the ground.

"Go ahead of me and clear away some of these bushes," he commanded gruffly, tucking the woman against his chest, "we gotta get her inside."

/

"What do you suppose happened to her?" Jack asked wide eyed and concerned as he hovered over the woman who lie naked but covered with a sheet on one of the long tables in the dining hall of Blackwater. Forrest gathered up all the medical supplies he could find and even substituted a few that could hardly qualify as sanitary but he figured she was in no place to be picky about her care.

"Dunno." He grumbled in his usual way.

"She looks like she got hit by a truck." Jack mused, further wearing on Forrest's already short temper.

"Could be." Howard chimed in with a laugh.

"If ya'll ain't gonna be of no more help then get goin'!" Forrest shouted at the two idiots staring down at the woman who had just recently begun moaning in pain.

"Perhaps we outta take her to town; to a real doctor." Jack supplied with good intention. Forrest felt fiery anger whip through him at his younger brother's half assed suggestion that only further proved his ineptitude. He stalked over to Jack, clean rags in hand, and opened his mouth in preparation to lay into him in a way he rarely did when he was abruptly interrupted.

"No doctors… please…" a small, hoarse croak came from the table making them all stop and turn. The woman barely had one eye open, her breathing was more labored and uneven but at least she was conscious.

"Get outta here," Forrest commanded gruffly after a few seconds amazement. He'd thought for sure she'd been nigh unto dead when he'd brought her in. "Now." He added in such a way both men followed the order and quickly made themselves scarce leaving just the two of them.

"Don't say too much," he told her stonily as he pulled up a chair beside her and dipped a rag into a bowl of shine, "but where did you come from?" he wanted the most pertinent information first.

"New York." She whispered as best she could even though it wasn't much. Forrest gently but firmly touched the soaked rag to the multitude of small incisions on her face from the thorny vines he'd removed. He wasn't the least bit surprised when she let out a high pitched scream at the gut wrenching sensation he knew all too well.

"Care to 'splain why you're here?" he continued after her face had been thoroughly wiped down with a healthy dose of shine. He re-dipped the rag and moved on down her arm as she gathered her thoughts; thankfully she gave up on screaming.

"Can't say." She whispered.

"You best say," he prodded, more than a little irritated at the fact that she was holding something back, "because I ain't gon' be keepin' no killer in my home if that's what you are so you best tell me right here and now what the story behind all of this is." He knew the venom in his voice was in all likeliness scaring her but he wasn't willing to risk anything.

"I… can't… say…" she told him more insistently.

"Then once I get you cleaned up you best be on your way."

She looked dejected beneath the mottled bruising and it almost worked to bring out a smidgeon of pity in Forrest.

Almost.

Things had changed too vastly for him to make any exceptions to his harsh rules no matter how arcane they were to those around him. Seeing as how his two brothers were both dumber than boxes of rocks his word was law and he wouldn't hear any grief regarding it.

He stood from the chair and walked around to the head of the table. Lifting a basin full of warm water he set it on the table and helped her to life her head which seemed to give her a great deal of difficulty but once it cleared the wide of the basin he shoved it underneath her and held her head gently in one of his hands.

"Relax." He commanded. Slowly he lowered her head until her blood caked hair was almost entirely submerged then he began working at it with his free hand. His calloused fingers scrubbed her scalp and ran through the fine strands until the previously clear water had turned a violent shade of red and her hair was entirely free of blood.

"You're a blonde." He remarked off-handedly at the corn silk hue of her hair making her smile slightly.

"I suppose so." She whispered.

"Tell me your name." he told her as he went to rinse the basin out.

"Violet." She supplied once he returned to his seat.

"I gotta set your fingers right Violet," He told her as gently as he could, watching as she lifted her arm and stared at her crooked fingers, "this is gonna hurt." He warned her as he reached out and grabbed her hand, unwilling to give her a minute to chicken out. He grabbed the tip of her index finger between his and roughly twisted it until it was straight. Her bone rattling screams nearly derailed him but he tamped down on his already shattered nerves and twisted each finger until they looked relatively normal save for their brutal purple tone. He grabbed the broken sticks he'd prepared for splints and lined them up with her fingers before wrapping cloth around them.

"Can't do much 'bout that collarbone but I can splint your leg and that'll 'bout do it." He told her as he made his way down the table and lifted the sheet to reveal her slightly broken leg that, hopefully, wouldn't need much in the way of correcting. He grabbed an old thin table leg and lined it up with hers, wrapping cloth around it in much the same fashion as her fingers.

"Thank you." She whispered as he stepped away and began to clean up.

"Mhm," was his response.

"Can you tell me where I am please?" she asked gently as he rounded up the bloodied cloths. He stilled at her question, was baffled by it. How on earth could she not know where she was? Especially this deep in Franklin County.

"Franklin County Virginia." He told her after a few moments thought. He continued cleaning up the mess he'd made for her while waiting for some other vague question that never came. Once everything was in its rightful place he turned around prepared to tell her he'd have Jack give her a ride to the doctor in town despite her protestation against doctors but found her fast asleep. It was probably for the best given her current condition but he couldn't get past the nagging sense that she wasn't someone he should be keeping around; he knew she'd just bring a mess of trouble with her.

She was a mystery to him and that bothered him more than anything.


End file.
